


Love is still a losing game

by Bdot424



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, Piper McLean - Fandom, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2020-11-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:48:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27752578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bdot424/pseuds/Bdot424
Summary: It had been 18 months since he had passed and 18 months since she had been back. She didn’t carry much remembrance of this place beside her necklace and the tattoo of a lightning bolt on her wrist. The place felt foreign even if everyone welcomed her. When her mother asked for her help she refused. She had sworn to leave this part of her life in the past but somehow she was sucked in again. Piper McLean was stuck in a losing game.
Relationships: Jason Grace & Piper McLean, Piper McLean - Relationship





	1. Chapter 1

Her hands felt cold in the New York Air, out of place and no longer at ease. Her jeans and jacket could cover her body but not her growing suspicious. Suspicions for a place she called home. At least a place she had called home once before. The drive had been one that she wished she didn’t have to take. She knew why she was being called and she didn’t appreciate it. She had told her mother that she didn’t want to live this life anymore, that Oklahoma was perfect for her. It didn’t matter that she had broken up with her girlfriend recently or that her dreams began to grow in frequency and focus. The last place Piper McLean wanted to be was at camp HalfBlood. And Sadly that is exactly where she found herself. 

She rubbed her tattoo as she walked towards the big house while the campers hurried around the place. Drew ran towards her and they embraced. Drew smelt good like honey and less beauty products then normal. “ You should see what we did to the cabin” Drew said and Piper wished she could spend the time to walk around camp and see everything and everyone that was still here. Most of her friends were either in California or in school now like Leo or Annabeth. Even Percy was hard at work during his junior year. There wasn’t much at camp besides Drew and the cabin but this couldn’t wait. 

Piper walked past the various cabins and made her way to the big house. The dreams had told her that this was where she should go. She walked to the porch and heard a familiar voice. “ Paola Maclin” Dionysus said as Piper laughed and greeted the god. She reminded him that her name was Piper McLean but after another butchering of her name she let it go. “ Where’s Chiron?” she asked as Dionysus chugged cherry coke from a glass. “ Inside” he replied and Piper walked inside the big house. 

“ Piper my gods you are a sight for sore eyes” Chiron said as he strolled over to Piper and greeted her. Piper said hello to him and told the centaur about the dreams she had been having. “ Once you brought it back to camp I put it back in it’s original place. I don’t know if it has something to do with Apollo ascending back into godhood or whatever the gods could have in store but the visions in Katoptris have returned Piper”. As he walked beside her while they hurried to the armory Chiron looked down at Piper’s right forearm. “ A lightning Bolt?”. “ Yeah” Piper said as she rubbed the new tattoo and let her eyes rest upon it for a while. Piper could tell he knew what it was for and because he knew he didn’t bring the subject up again. “ The dagger is in there. Whatever it shows you remember that it does not bend to your will” “ Don’t worry. I’ll remember” 

“ And Piper one last thing. Don’t be a stranger” 

“ Never been one” 

Piper walked into the room and glanced over at the dagger. The handle looked exactly the same as the last time she had held it. The cover was the same and the weight was familiar in her hand. Nothing about it felt off but when she opened it she saw a vision. She saw chandeliers glistening and people all around that she didn’t know. She saw a cave, the dagger in the air and water at someone’s feet. She saw two spirits running away from something out of her sight and then she saw a dress burn in the sunlight. The dagger went cold and the visions ceased. Piper grabbed the dagger and pocketed it in between the loops of her jeans and walked outside. 

The camp was somewhat lively at nighttime with the winter air being slightly chilly but good enough that Piper could be outside. This was always her favorite place at camp because you could see the stars the best from right here. She had came up here once with him after the Titan war and she thought it was all gonna be okay. Even back then she had her doubts about it but it wasn’t until the labyrinth. Something about that day caused her to realize they couldn’t work. A big part of love is knowing when to let go of it and why. She knew that it would always feel fabricated even if that connection was love in a psychical form. When she had met Shel after he had left a part of her had felt bad. She had felt like she was betraying his memory but after a while she realized that the same feelings she had for him were what he had for her. And after they had separated their wasn’t a single day that he begged for her to come back, not a moment where she felt as if he spited her, she knew he cared. And that’s what hurt her the most because she thought that was it for her. But it wasn’t and shel wasn’t either and now she was up here talking to the stars again. 

She had thought she was alone until she saw a women in a beautiful satan coat and heels stand beside her with a smile on her face. 

“ Mom” 

“Hello my dear. “ 

Piper wanted to be overjoyed at her mother even if she had gotten the cravings for dresses and makeup every time she went on Pinterest but she was more mad about her mother playing cards to get her here. 

“ I already told you, I’m never going on another quest” 

“ Piper I’m afraid you don’t have a choice. I know the dreams you’ve been having and they won’t stop till you go to Rome. By yourself” 

“ I left this world alone and tried to live a normal life, lived on the ranch, got into Oklahoma, and now I get dragged back in. Why?” 

“ You can never leave behind what you are My daughter. You will always be a Daughter of Aphrodite and above all else you will always be a half blood” 

“ I know. But this whole thing, this game that we play.... I’m tired of what it brings. I’m tired mother and when I sleep it only gets worse”. 

“My dearest Piper I know that you feel weary of the world these days, but remember that love conquers all. Even fear doesn’t stand a chance if love is what you possess. I ask of you go to Venice, The cavern of lost loves is alive again. Only a daughter of love can hear the voices. Olympus needs you. I NEED YOU” 

“ Zeus needs me” 

Do not make this about him. This has nothing to do with any of them” 

“ I’ll go. But after this quest the next time I get a single desire to cut out the cheap perfumes in magazines I’ll find you” 

“ Didn’t know you were a jokester my love” 

Piper continued to lay on the roof of Cabin one as she felt the wind breeze through her jacket and when she went to cabin 10 she found her bunk made perfectly and 3 pictures still up as if they weren’t years old. The 1st was one of the 7 around 6 months after the Titan war. Frank had turned into a kangaroo because Leo told Calypso he could “ beat anyone down” and Calypso didn’t believe him one bit. Piper still couldn’t believe they had broken up but when she thought about it the split made sense. A immortal girl is going to want to live freely no matter how great of a guy Leo is. It wasn’t his fault or hers really. It was just how love decided to play it’s hand for them. Jason had his hand around her while Annabeth and Percy shared a cupcake that Piper had baked. Hazel stood by Nico who had brought Will who Piper thought made the cutest couple ever. Reyna stood beside Nico in mid yawn and Piper couldn’t help but miss the praetor. They had grown closer over the years and it had been a while since she had visited California. She still didn’t visit his grave, the Romans had cremated him but she was okay with just seeing his funeral pyre. She promised herself that this was the year. The 2nd picture was of her, Leo, and Jason a lot of winters ago. They had a snow fight and judging from the picture she had won. The 3rd picture was of her and Jason on the best date they had went on. She took him to Washington D.C to see the cherry blossoms and that day was one she would never forget. Piper closed her eyes reluctantly, hoping that her dreams would be something she could stomach for once.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Piper McLean has been given her quest and returned to camp half blood but now she must receive prophecy and journey to the land of love.

Waking up at camp half blood was something Piper wasn’t used to anymore. She had thought she was in her dorm at Oklahoma until she didn’t see her folders beside her desk. She smelt the scent of perfume around her as Drew and the rest of Cabin 10 dressed each other up and waved hello to her. Piper waved back and a part of her was happy to be back here. She had sort of missed this part of this life, waking up around siblings and smelling the perfume and gossip. She rubbed her eyes and headed for the showers while Drew and everyone else continued to gossip away

The Dining Pavillion was sort of quiet this time of year with only a select number of campers being at camp in the winter. This was good for Piper because it allowed her to get her food and get out quickly. Even if there were things she enjoyed about camp she didn’t want to be here. She had put this part of her life to the side and had intended to keep it there. Something always dragged demigods back to this life and she knew she couldn’t escape it. She poured her cup of water and asked for 3 breakfast bagels and soon they appeared before her. She sat in silence and watched the snow fall around the area casually. She turned her head to look at Katoptris on her hip when a voice said “ That is her”. Another voice then said “ She hasn’t been here in years, that would be like seeing a ghost trust me”. Piper could recognize that speech pattern anywhere and turned to greet Will Solace and Nico Diangelo who she still considered the cutest thing ever. 

“ Long time no see Piper” Will said as he took off his hat and ran his hand through his golden hair. Will had grown a bit since the last time Piper had seen him, he was maybe a little shorter than Percy was when they went to Rome and his confidence seemed sky high. Will told her that he was here just to visit before heading to California to drop off Nico at school. Piper was a bit surprised to find out the son of hades was truly in school she thought that was just a rumor that had made its way down to her but Nico confirmed it. 

“ I’m a junior now. It’s a bit weird because all of the stuff I’m learning in class I lived through but it’s not terrible”. 

Piper had finished her food and sat with the boys to explain why she had journeyed back to camp. 

“ What are you seeing in these dreams?” Nico asked as he twirled his ring on his finger. Piper noticed that his skin was glowing with health which was something she wasn’t used to when it came to him. She had always liked the son of hades but a part of him was always a bit too gloom. She hung around him a lot because Jason and him had grown to be best friends basically and that meant they had to interact, so it’s safe to say they knew each other well. She explained the visions of the cave and the dress burning to Nico who said in response 

“ Rachel might be able to help you with that. She got her prophecies back. She gave us one years ago and it wasn’t my finest hour” 

“ You’re the reason we left Tartarus Nico. You saved Bob” Will told him 

“ Yeah but when I controlled that guys shadow... not saying I haven’t done stuff like that before but down there that time it was... different” he replied. 

Piper was just happy that they had come out alive and that they could see the other day. She waved goodbye to the couple as she walked to the Cave, prepared to meet with Rachel Elizabeth Dare. 

The Cave had somewhat changed since Piper had last been here, their were somehow LED lights in here with art supplies and canvases galore. She could hear Rachel humming a rap song as she walked closer and closer to her. Rachel’s hair was still as frizzy and messy as before but she had grown a bit more beautiful then the last time they saw each other. Rachel turned around with a hairbrush in her hand as if she was going to whack Piper with it and yelled “ PIPER”. Piper smiled and hugged the Oracle as Rachel put the hairbrush down and the two of them caught up. 

“So you’ve been seeing all of that in your dreams and they lead you here. Your mother gave you a task and you need a prophecy. My winter break is never over is it?” Rachel said as Piper sat in a bean bag on the ground. Piper got up and noticed the backpack and laptop on the floor which obviously meant Rachel had just arrived. “ I just got in from NYU last night. Taking that gap year really helped even if I’m a sophomore now. I could care less as long as I can still study art. How about you Piper what’re you studying”. Piper had flipped back and forth between Psychology and Sociology before landing on film. It was easy and familiar and it helped that her father was who he was. It didn’t give her extra credit but she had knowledge on the subject. Rachel turned around and said “ that’s interesting, I would’ve fell asleep after 2 minutes but it sounds like fun. Now let’s see about this prophe”. Piper watched as Rachel’s eyes began to glow and green mist spewed out from her mouth. 

“ The land of love shall offer its all/ the Daughter of the heart shall answer its call/ the lovers that are lost shall wander the cave/ the dress that they left behind shall burn in a gaze/ the choice she made she sleeps restless about/ love shall end its game without a doubt” 

Rachel fell into a beanbag while Piper helped her ease into a resting position. She looked around and then right at Piper and said “ did you get that”. Piper put a thumbs up and Rachel said “ you should probably get going” and Piper hugged the Oracle goodbye before heading out. 

Piper had no idea how she would reach Paris as she gripped Katroptris in her hands. The dagger suddenly showed her a vision of her mother holding a ticket for a plane and Piper recognized the airport in the back so she called a cab. 

Piper arrived and searched around for her mother until she found her in a beautiful brown coat and black hat sitting with a newspaper. 

“ The ticket?” 

“ You know what would be great? If my daughter would greet me with respect” 

“ Hello mother how are you I need the ticket” 

“ Take it. Do you have everything else you need?” 

“ Yes. Right in my bag. Just so we’re clear after this quest I am done. You can tell Olympus that yourself. After this I am done. 

“ My dearest Piper I understand the rage that is inside of you. But I need you to know that no one is ever done with Olympus” 

“ When I come back we’ll see” 

“ Safe travels my dear” 

Piper zipped up her jacket and headed for the plane that was due to takeoff in 15 minutes. The tickets were first class and that gave Piper the time to relax and rest. She looked down at the bolt on her arm and kissed it before falling asleep in the sky

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading my work. Tell me what you like or dislike and what I can do better

**Author's Note:**

> Hi. Hope you enjoy this. It’s my 1st time posting on here. Hit me up @Bdot424


End file.
